You’re right if you don’t have atleast 35 there’s no point starting as injuries and unavailability will hit.I think unless there's a large influx of players at Monday evening's training session the likelihood is the club will go into recess for a season, not close down altogether.
Yesterday's session I would estimate there were around 10 or so players, not enough.
Tellingly, there were very few supporters there to offer support, only the same old faces.
Most of them were over 70 years of age, probably twenty at best.
To even put a side into the reserve grade competition, you would need around 30-35 players to accommodate for injuries, unavailabilty due to work/family etc (last year Hobart had twenty-six players out with longer-term injuries).
Hobart could top up with players from the Master Rules as what happened last year but the reality is, most of these blokes are over 40 and having to play every second Sunday on top of playing SFL Reserves, you have to be extremely wary of burning these guys out and damaging their own setup and the club is cognisant of that.
I have it on very good authority that the number of player registrations at senior level in Tasmania is down by approximately 250 from this time twelve months ago.
That's a staggering amount.
How many have they lost at junior level?
People may laugh and snicker and lay the boots in to Hobart (and Claremont not long back) but they should also be looking over their shoulder because their club could be next! Won't take much.
So much of what is posted on Bigfooty is so factually incorrect it's actually quite laughable at times and could even be excused for being Betoota Advocate articles.
I could say a LOT more but it is not for public consumption at this time.
I do know that the club were about to sign a high profile coach and his son-in-law (an ex-Tiger) as assistant coach but he tragically died suddenly the same week.
Whilst it's disappointing, it is what it is and the club will eventually regroup and go again.
I can’t see them coming back as I still think there is a shortage of 100 players a week down South.